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Painting Horses
By Elliott Saunders
This article is based on a painting guide we found whilst surfing about the internet, and we though it was so good
we’d make sure everyone saw it. It’s one of many painting and modelling articles on Elliott’s site (www.ellsweb.com),
which is well worth a visit next time you’re on-line. To demonstrate the results of these instructions we got our own
Mr Roach to wield his brushes and give us an example of each, painted as per the instructions. Anyway, without
further ado, over to Elliott:

A few people consider painting horses as an enjoyable Hoof Colours

pastime, others really detest it since their detail is often
minimal and their expanses of large, mostly smooth areas
can be tricky to highlight. I am, I’m afraid, of the latter
camp, and I seriously try to shy away from horses
whenever possible. However, I have written this guide so
that all those new to the hobby may take the opportunity
to see exactly how a horse is painted, even if they, too,
never want to paint one!
Hoof colour is very dependant on the limb and the horse. Black
hooves will never appear on white horses, and white hooves
never appear on black horses, however striped hooves may
appear on either. Stockings or socks can be either white or black,
and will depend on the horse as to how far they come up and
what colour they are on the leg. Ermine marks are speckled
white lines above the hoof that has black marks or dots on.

Now, I am no horse rider, in fact, I’ve only ever sat on one

horse in my life, so whatever I say in
this guide is not in any way
gospel, but I have collected
many references and
viewed a LOT of
pictures to try to
make this guide
as factual as
possible.
White Striped Black

Zebra Ermine Pastern

Sock Stocking Leg

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Blazes and Facial Striping

Blazes can occur on any colour of animal, regardless of whether the animal can have socks. Here are a few of the common varieties of ‘blaze’.

Star Snip Long Snip Stripe Blaze Muzzle Face

There are a few ‘areas’ on the horse that I may refer to in this guide, and they are as follows:

Mane: The hair running

Muzzle: The lower end down the back of the Tail: Hairy bit above the bum.
of the horse’s face, from horse’s head and neck.
just under the eyes
down.

Cannon: The upper part of the Cuffs/Socks: A white

lower leg, just below the knee but patch that can extend
above the fetlock. from the fetlock,
through the cannon, up
to just above the knee.

Fetlock: The ankle, just above the Hoof: The actual end on the foot, the nail piece.
hoof but below the knee and cannon.

Bays
Brown horse, ranging from a light tan red to a very dark reddy-brown, with a black mane, tail, muzzle and cannon. Often the black
cuff can extend up over the horse’s knee (to become a sock) – if the horse has white cuffs then the black continues above the white.

Dark Bay Light Bay

Basecoat: Scorched Brown, add a touch of Red Gore Basecoat: Bubonic Brown
Wash: Black, red-brown mix Wash: Bubonic Brown/Chestnut Ink wash
Highlight: Dark Flesh Highlight: Bubonic Brown, Bleached Bone
Cannon/Muzzle: Black, Dark Flesh/black mix highlights Cannon/Muzzle: Cannon Scorched Brown, muzzle
Mane/tail: Same as muzzle often lighter, Bleached Bone/Skull White mix.
White cuffs/blazes: No, they are usually dark. Mane/tail: Scorched Brown/Black mix
White cuffs/blazes: No, usually dark.

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Black
Very dark brown, not entirely black (which helps for
highlighting), but can have white cuffs or blazes in any
combination.
Basecoat: Very dark Scorched Brown-black mix, almost
pure black.
Wash: Black
Highlight: Dark brown/black or grey
Cannon/Muzzle: Black
Mane/tail: Black
White cuffs/blazes: Yes, in any combination.

Grey
Range from a dappled grey through to a dark steel grey. Mane and tail are often either darker or lighter than the coat, and the muzzle
and cannon darker than the coat. Greys can have white cuffs.

Pale Grey or Dapple Grey Dark Grey or Steel Grey

Basecoat: Ghostly Grey Undercoat: Chaos Black
Dapple: Space Wolves Grey Basecoat: Codex Grey
Wash: Fortress Grey/Ghostly Grey watery mix to Highlights: Fortress Grey then Fortress Grey and
obscure dapple. White Skull.
Cannon/Muzzle: Shadow Grey Wash: Codex Grey
Mane/tail: Bleached Bone/Space WolvesGrey Mix, Cannon/Muzzle: Muzzle approaching an almost Codex
highlight with Skull White. Grey colour, but still quite dark so don’t highlight up
Cuffs/blazes: Usually no blazes but can have any too far, cannon’s should remain mostly dark, but they
combination cuff. can be as light as the muzzle.
For realism, no horse is truly all grey. They are usually a very dark Mane/tail: Chaos Black with streaks of Codex Grey as
colour (not quite black) with lighter grey hairs showing here and there. noted below in the longer method or highlight to
Of course, when painting models we want to give an impression rather Codex Grey if not using that method.
than an exact copy, so we can ignore this issue and just paint the whole Cuffs/blazes: See previous description, but again, if
horse in Codex Grey and highlight with Fortress Grey and then Fortress possible, leave them dark.
Grey and Skull White. However, if you want to be slightly more realistic
then I suggest applying a black undercoat, and watering down the
Codex Grey to an almost milky appearance. Apply this carefully to the horse, leaving in some of the strokes of the brush. Naturally at the scale we’re
working we shouldn’t be able to see the actual hairs, but we want to give the impression of the black and grey hairs together. Using this method,
we get a simple highlight in grey, over the black undercoat that leaves an impression that looks like the real thing. Blenders and layerers will know
that applying very watery colour requires not only very steady hands, but the use of a little trick: when applying very watery colour, use a piece of
tissue to draw off some of the water from the side of the brush (not too near the tip and definitely not too near the ferrule or you’ll cake the brush
up, so preferably use an old brush) and leave the pigment at the end of the brush. If you water it down too far, add some more paint – it should be
watery enough to see the black undercoat, but not so watery that it puddles or turns into a big droplet on the figure.
Then highlight up using Fortress Grey and Fortress Grey and Skull White mix as normal, taking care not to cover over too much of the previous
layer. It does look odd, but is more realistic than coating the horse all in grey. To bring out detail, you can use a wash of Codex Grey.
The mane and tail are similar to the body, with grey highlights over a black undercoat, going up to almost Skull White in spots but not too pale: we
want to give an overall impression of dark grey with lighter grey and white hairs peeking out here and there.

Dappling a Grey Horse

The coat of grey horses is most commonly a mixture of white and dark hairs, rather than a uniform grey. This will often give the
animal a slightly “spotted” or dappled appearance, which I duplicate in the following way. Cover the horse in the basecoat ensuring
that all the areas are covered. Take an old small 0 or 00 brush and dip it into a watery mix of the dapple colour and wipe some off
onto a rag or tissue. Gently touch the tip of the brush down (rather than across, we don’t want streaks, but dots). We want to create
irregular, small blotches not long streaks. Once dry, mix up a watery mix of the wash and apply to the horse so that you can just see
the dapple, but it has a more diffused, soft effect.

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Palamino
Another pale golden brown with a blonde mane and tail and
white blazes and cuffs. Never has dark markings on its lower
legs.
Basecoat: Vomit Brown
Wash: Leprous Brown/Flesh Wash mix, make it watery.
Highlight: Vomit Brown/Bleached Bone mix
Cannon/Muzzle: As basecoat. Muzzle may occasionally
be pinkish or grey though.
Mane/tail: Bleached Bone, wash with Bubonic Brown
and highlight with Skull White.
White cuffs/blazes: Usually the blaze extends to cover
the muzzle, and three out of four legs tend to have a
white cuff.
Piebald
Traditionally, in Europe, a black and white patchwork horse
(imagine a Friesian cow like a horse) is called a Piebald. For the
most part, these horses are usually white horses with random
“blotches” of black or what can appear to be a very dark brown
(nearly black, but slightly reddy-brown under intense light),
often in a “jigsaw” pattern on the coat. Usually Piebalds have
white legs or stockings, the black coloration staying within the
coat area, but some can be seen with black legs. Piebalds’ faces
are almost always black, with a blaze or stripe of white.
Basecoat: Touch of Ghostly Grey in white with Chaos
Black for patches.
Wash: Very watery mix of darker basecoat
Highlight: Skull White for white, with a Scorched
Brown/Black mix for black patches.
Cannon/Muzzle: Black or white (all one colour usually)
Mane/tail: Usually black
White Cuffs/blazes: Most often whole leg is one colour
but can be white or black on an opposing coloured leg.
Roan
A pale dusty brown or ‘strawberry’, which is a very light red-
brown. Often have a dark cannon and muzzle but the mane
and tail are almost always much paler than the coat. Can have
cuffs and blazes in white and in any combination.
Basecoat: Snakebite Leather
Wash: Vermin Brown/Flesh Wash mix
Highlight: Leprous Brown/Vermin Brown
Cannon/Muzzle: Muzzle usually dark brown-grey
Mane/tail: Bestial Brown, with dark Scorched Brown
wash at ends.
White cuffs/blazes: Yes, in any combination.
Skewbald
Skewbald on the other hand is a white horse with any other
colour, usually randomly blotched with browns, ranging from a
medium brown to an almost black (but characteristically a
brown that you can differentiate from black, so ensure when
painting that it stands out as a very dark brown, ie,‘brown’
enough to be seen). Occasionally Skewbald can have black legs,
which are often confined to one side of the body and merge
with the brown patches above the legs on the body.
Basecoat: Follow the white horse, but for brown
patches, choose between any of the roan, chestnut or
dark bay colours.
Wash: Very watery mix of darker basecoat.
Highlight: Skull White for white, with browns as
noted elsewhere for the particular brown you’ve
chosen to use.
Cannon/Muzzle: Brown or white (all one colour
usually).
Mane/tail: Usually brown
Cuffs/blazes: Most often whole leg is one colour but
can be white or brown on an opposing coloured leg.
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Mealy Muzzles
This is quite a complex question and depends on the horse’s parentage and genetic makeup, but suffice to say that almost all horses
can have a mealy muzzle, except some very dark horses, such as bays and blacks.
*best scientist voice* It occurs most commonly in roan or medium brown horses and often in mules/donkeys/asses. It is essentially
a genetic dominant gene ‘defect’ – (because horses are not bred for it’s trait, its a problem that has largely been overcome with time
so older horses (from fantasy/ancient armies times) would have had a more visible problem because of a rouge gene called
‘Pangare’. There is also another ‘defect’ that occurs naturally in light, usually white or dapple horses, called blood spots, which are
essentially a concentration of flea bites, often on the flanks and shoulders).
Anyway, mealy markings can cause lighter areas on the belly, muzzle (most common when it occurs at all), inner legs and over the
eyes. It is usually bred out these days and for the most part, is actually uncommon in horses anyway (it’s more common in mules).
Mealy points are off-white (Bleached Bone or white/BB mix) and are sometimes so extensive they can occur up to the throat, breast
and flanks. Usually in such cases, the horse also has light eye rings and a muzzle but a dark belly.

Dun
Very pale yellow with dark mane, tail muzzle and cannon. Very
rarely has blazes or cuffs.

Basecoat: Bleached Bone
Wash: Flesh Wash/Bubonic Brown, make it watery.
Highlight: Bleached Bone
Cannon/Muzzle: White/Bleached Bone blend
Mane/tail: Bleached Bone, apply dark grey/brown wash
to the very end of the tail and mane.
White cuffs/blazes: Occasionally
Appaloosa
There is another horse, called the Appaloosa, with similar
markings to the Piebald and Skewbald, but these are often
confined to ‘spots’ of black or brown (on a white horse or
spots of white on a black/brown horse), rather than patchy
‘jigsaw/cow’ marks. Only rarely do these horses have facial
markings other than a blaze.
There are six main Appaloosa patterns and several pattern
variations, with a roan being the most common base colour.
There is the leopard coat, which is an all over white
background with dark spots. Or its opposite: the snowflake,
being an all over dark background with white spots.
Alternatively, there’s the spotted blanket, which is mainly a
dark body (black or dark brown, choose the dark chestnut or
bay) with dark spots on a white back and/or hindquarters.
This contrasts to the white blanket, which has a mainly light
body with a dark back and/or hindquarters.
For painting, follow the instructions for a white horse, with
either the black horse’s instructions for the dark areas and
spots, or dark bay or dark chestnut. Note that these horses can
be a really mixed up colour combination, from being a white
back and hindquarters, with a chestnut front and roan legs to
a more usual spotty black and white horse!

Cannon/Muzzle: Often a white blaze

Mane/tail: Usually brown or black
White cuffs/blazes: Yes, in any combination, but can
also have a light roan/dun colour up to the level of a
A proud Reiklander rides into the City of the Damned... stocking.

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Chestnut
Bright copper brown to a dark reddy-brown, with the mane and tail mostly the same colours as the body. Sometimes the chestnut
will have a mane and tail of golden/blonde hair, but unlike bay’s chestnuts have no black cuffs or socks that extend to the cannon.

Dark Chestnut Light Chestnut

Basecoat: Scorched Brown/black mix, but more brown Basecoat: Dark Flesh
than the ‘black’ horse. Wash: Red, chestnut and dark brown ink/paint washes
Wash: Black-brown ink/paint mix Highlight: Bestial Brown/Vermin Brown
Highlight: Scorched Brown/black mix Cannon/Muzzle: As coat
Cannon/Muzzle: As basecoat Mane/tail: Slightly lighter or darker than the basecoat.
Mane/tail: As basecoat White cuffs/blazes: Yes, in any combination.
White cuffs/blazes: Yes, in any combination.

White
A light grey more than white, but will usually have a very light
and white looking tail and mane, with a pinky muzzle. Consider
sitting musicians, standard bearers or other important
dignitaries or heroes on white or grey horses in ‘good’ armies for
that extra touch!

Can a Zombie run faster than a horse? Depends which

Basecoat: Touch of Bleached Bone in white.
Wash: Watery Bleached Bone/Grey mix
Highlight: Skull White
Muzzle: Can be pinkish or grey.
Cannon: If pink muzzle, as coat colour. If dark, cannon
as muzzle colours.
Mane/tail: If pink muzzle, Bleached Bone, shade with
Bubonic Brown at ends. If dark muzzle, Codex Grey
wash with black at ends.
White cuffs/blazes: Often has cuffs, but not usually any
blazes. Follow the mane example for colour.
movie you watch.
Author A self-confessed "computer geek", Elliott has more
than just a talent for bits and bytes. His web site is
full of interesting painting and modelling guides
and is well worth a visit, regardless of which games
you play. He’s also an amateur cryptozoologist,
which makes me wonder if his pet cat really is just a
normal cat...
Further The mounted Characters are now available from
Information Direct Sales (See page 94 for How to Order).
More Mordheim Turn to page 68 for the Averlanders.
Website www.Mordheim.com & www.ellsweb.com

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